Commission approves simulcast races in Casper

CASPER, WY - Sept. 9, 2011 - The business group that brought live horse racing back to Wyoming won approval Tuesday to offer simulcast wagering at Sidelines Sports Bar. The group, Wyoming Horse Racing LLC, hopes to have the venture running by the end of the month, said Eugene Joyce, one of the business partners.

“We are going to go as fast as we can,” he said.

Before voting to allow simulcast racing at Sidelines, Natrona County commissioners noted the lack of police opposition and Casper’s long history of off-track betting. Simulcast racing was available in the Casper area from 1989 until January, when an off-track betting site in Evansville closed.

Once the equipment is installed, Sidelines customers will be able to watch and wager on horse races across the country. The arrangement will bring provide more customers for Sidelines while exposing the bar’s existing clientele to the sport, Joyce said.

“(Sidelines) has a vibrant young audience that we hope to introduce to horse racing,” Joyce said. “This is one of the reasons we are looking to go there.”

The Wyoming Pari-Mutuel Commission — the government body that regulates horse racing in Wyoming — must still approve it before Joyce’s group can open the simulcast business. That decision could come later this month, said commission Executive Director Charles Moore.

The Casper area lost its only off-track betting site in January when the owner chose not to renew his simulcast permit. The same owner closed simulcast sites in three other cities and stopped offering live races at what had been the state’s only operating track, Wyoming Downs in Evanston.

Joyce and his partners are betting they can revive the industry. Since earning state approval in June, they’ve re-established off-track betting in Evanston and Rock Springs. They also received permission to open a site outside Buffalo and are seeking the go-ahead to establish another business in Riverton.

The group has also begun hosting live horse racing at Sweetwater Down in Rock Springs. The races are Wyoming’s first in two years.

Joyce and his partners ran four days of live races this year and have said they expect to offer even more in 2012. A state rule requires track operators to run at least 16 days of live racing to receive a simulcast permit, but applicants can seek an exemption for circumstances like an economic hardship.

On its own, live horse racing is usually a money-losing venture. But Joyce expects to keep his overall business profitable through the eight off-track betting sites he plans to have running by next year.

Even amid the recession, gamblers in Wyoming still wagered between $9 million and $10 million annually on simulcast racing.

Joyce’s father, Joseph, owned Wyoming Downs from 1989-98. The younger Joyce helped run his family’s simulcast business.

At the time, Sidelines hosted simulcast racing at a prior location in Casper, Joyce said.

Read more: Billings Gazette